


Payback on the Runway

by Ysavvryl



Category: Persona 5
Genre: F/F, Fashion Show, Post-Canon, Treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-08
Updated: 2019-09-08
Packaged: 2020-10-12 17:04:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20567834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ysavvryl/pseuds/Ysavvryl
Summary: Ann and Shiho want to return a favor, but Akira is a tough person to help out.





	Payback on the Runway

**Author's Note:**

  * For [xenoglossy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/xenoglossy/gifts).

“Why don’t you tell her how you really feel?” he asked.

“Hey!” Ann felt embarrassed that he’d say that, especially when Shiho was right there looking uncertain of it. She also felt terribly sad for her leaving, hopeful and proud of her for facing this, and impulsively longing to say something. Tightening her fist, she was at a loss for which emotion to speak for and how to say it.

Akira had this graceful smile though, just before he turned away. “I’ll be in the other room when you want help back down, alright?” He then left through the door before either of them could respond.

“Um, I didn’t mind talking with him here,” Shiho said, looking at the closed door. “He always seemed like a cool guy, especially with how you spoke of him.”

“Yeah, he’s a lot better than people give him credit for,” she said.

“Then, what did you want to say?” Shiho asked, turning to her.

Her heart was beating fast; she had a good idea of what Akira meant, since they’d been chatting about it the past few days. While she still wasn’t sure what to say, she had to say something now if she ever did. Shiho was moving away and it’d be easier to tell her face-to-face like this. It didn’t help that they were up here on the school rooftop either, where Shiho had nearly died. “Well, it’s, I’m surprised to hear you say that I helped you keep strong because you’ve been helping me to keep strong these past few months too. I wanted to make up for not being able to help you before.”

“It’s all right, I don’t blame you for anything,” she said, looking away and rubbing her elbow. “It was difficult for anyone to speak up back then. Everyone would claim that we were so lucky, getting into this school and being on a strong team under a famous coach. We were all at fault, thinking we just had to endure until we graduated so we had a better life.”

This wasn’t where she wanted this discussion to be going. “Right, but that’s all behind us now,” she said. “The thing is, I’ve missed you all this time, and I already miss you in moving away even though I understand why. You should get a fresh start somewhere new, and I hope it all goes well for you. But, then, Shiho, I love you too, I mean, I really love you!”

“Huh?” Her eyes widened and she seemed unsure of what to say in response.

“Yeah, I do,” Ann said, reaching over to offer her hand. “Which means I really don’t want to be apart from you, even if I know you’ll be better off elsewhere. So, I’d like to come visit you on the weekends, or when we get days off from school together. And, we can chat over the phone every day! But still, I’ll be waiting for a time when we can be together again. Maybe even at the same college.”

By that point, Shiho was able to smile; her eyes seemed to be sparkling. “Weren’t we planning on doing that anyhow?” Then she took Ann’s hand. “Ann, I love you too… heh, I’ve felt like that for a while, but I also felt embarrassed about if I was the only one who felt that strongly.”

“Oh, I worried about the same thing,” she said, smiling back. Something inside her felt like squealing like a little girl with all this excitement. Instead, she just hugged Shiho tight. “I’ll miss you so much.”

“Me too, but I’m sure we’ll be fine,” Shiho said. “If I have the love of someone as beautiful as you, I’ll have lots of determination to keep strong every day until we can always be together.”

Unfortunately, the moment couldn’t last long. Shiho had to get back to moving. Back inside, they found Akira sitting on an old chair and reading. He didn’t ask for any details, just smiled and offered his arm again to help Shiho get back down the stairs. Ann didn’t mention it right then, but she resolved that she’d pay him back for this someday. Maybe when he was in love himself? But who could he be in love with?

* * *

Time passed… a lot of things happened, a lot of crazy things at that. But eventually, it all settled down and Ann returned to a normal student life as a senior. All that she’d been through had given her strength and confidence, enough that she could brush off any rumors or bullying by other students. She even gained the respect of a fair number of them, along with other friends that she wouldn’t have gotten close to before. Despite that, she still turned down anyone who tried to flirt with her. Her heart belonged to Shiho.

The brightest days of that year were always when she would go visit Shiho, or when she would come to Tokyo instead. One day, they got some crepes as a treat. “Oh man, I will not be giving these up again,” Ann said, licking some cream off her finger.

Shiho’s laugh was muffled since she was trying to eat her own crepe. “Then you really tried it?”

“Yes, but like I’ve been saying, those diets are awful,” she said, taking a bit of the whipped cream and dabbing it on Shiho’s nose to make her laugh some more. “So many of those foods are no fun at all. And you’ve got to always be looking up the nutritional information, adding up all your calories, sugars, proteins, and all, then all the stuff that’s recommended are things I don’t like or things that take getting used to eating. I mean like, I’ve gotten the quinoa to taste pretty good by mixing other stuff with it and getting tips on how to cook it better. Still, I get all stressed out trying to keep that all in mind, then I get lectures over avoiding food disorders even though the managers kept emphasizing that I should keep a certain look. Come on, just lighten up and let me have some treats every now and again.”

After wiping the bit of cream off her nose and then returning the move, Shiho said, “It is important to keep yourself for falling for those eating disorders. Actually, I’ve read a few blogs and articles lately talking about how the best diet would be the one that is both healthy and keeps you happy. There was one woman who spoke about how she dropped maintaining a supposed ideal weight in exchange for the weight she had when she was happy with her food. The actual range for a healthy weight is much larger than the mainstream ideal makes it out to be.”

“Really? Hey, could you send me links to those blogs? I’d love to see that for myself.”

Shiho nodded. “Sure, once we’re done eating. Although, you would have it tougher as a model.”

Ann smiled. “Eh, nothing says I can’t start a tread for prioritizing my health over a perfect look. And like I said, I could get used to eating healthy as long as it still allows for the occasional crepe or something. I just don’t want it to be so fussy.”

“Well you are beautiful as you are, especially when you’re happy,” Shiho said sweetly, making them both giggle. “You know, I keep thinking how lucky I am to have the person I love most love me back. It inspires me to work as hard as I can to make sure we can keep our plans to go to the same college.”

She nodded eagerly. “Yeah, me too! And I’ve been thinking, you know, I do have a limited time that I can work as a model. So, I’ve decided that I want to try learning some about business so that I can become a manager for the modeling business when I need to move on. It’s still a tough industry with more male managers than female. I’d like to become a manager who can not only help my clients succeed, but also make sure they have a good lifestyle and can deal with the pressure. Once I buckled down and got serious, I did need the help of you and my other friends to keep persevering; it’s still toxic at times, but others have started telling me that I’m a real positive presence at shows and shoots.”

“That’s wonderful,” she said proudly, patting her arm. They were still out in public; later on, they could get affectionate. “Actually, I’ve been thinking along the same lines. I won’t be able to compete myself now, but I still love sports. So maybe a sports trainer or team manager, something where I can make sure my team is doing their best without too much stress. Sports should be fun, after all.”

“Yeah, let’s be positive role models!” Ann said, giving her a hi-five. “We’ll promise each other that, right? And keep ourselves accountable.”

“Right, promise,” Shiho said, leading them to shake on it. “Actually, I was thinking, are we ever going to get to do something for Akira for helping us out back when? If it wasn’t for him, we’d still be friends, but that’s all.”

“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about it myself,” she said. “But you know, whenever I try prodding him about who he might be in love with, he keeps avoiding the question. I’ve offered to help him out, but even if there was someone, I don’t think he’d have the trouble we did confessing his love and winning over whoever he’s after.”

She nodded. “He should have all kinds of people trying to go out with him with how suave he is. I did have an idea though: if he isn’t going to be upfront with us about if he’s in love or not, we could do something else. Like, how about that guest fashion show coming up?”

“Aw, I wanted to bring you into that because you’re gorgeous too,” Ann said, leaning closer to her.

“Thanks,” she said with a blushing smile. “But I don’t want to be in the spotlight even if it is a one-time thing. It’s being used as a potential break for new models, right? Along with celebrating friendship, as they’re advertising it. Don’t you think that Akira would be really stunning as a model, even if it ends up a one-time thing?”

“He’d have a lot of personality there, that’s for sure,” she said, beaming herself. This was a wonderful afternoon, with the sun shining bright, her dear Shiho at her side, and thoughts of her friends close at hand. Also with a wonderful plot hatching in her mind. “Okay, how’s this? We pester him in chat again about who he loves and if he’s still not telling, we’ll bring him into the show as a surprise.”

“That sounds delightful,” Shiho said, excited about the idea. “We could tell our other friends that we’re trying to get him into Tokyo that week and put extra pressure on him to show up. But of course, we’ll let up on him if he just tells us.”

Ann laughed. “Heh, this is gonna be fun!”

* * *

Shiho: Hey.

Ann: Akira!!! Hey, we gotta talk!

Akira: What about?

Ann: Well it’s something we’ve wanted to do for a while now.

Ann: You just keep denying it though.

Akira: Denying what?

Shiho: I’m sure you should remember. Back when the two of us got together.

Ann: Right, we never got to do anything to thank you for helping out!

Ann: I can’t think of another guy who would’ve stepped aside so nicely after nudging us into confessing.

Shiho: Other guys might’ve tried consoling us then to get into a relationship with either of us.

Akira: I’m just glad you two are happy together.

Ann: That’s sweet, but we really owe you one here.

Ann: So we’ve come up with a plan.

Akira: Oh dear.

Shiho: It’s not that bad. You just tell us who you love and we’ll help you get with them.

Shiho: Or, you can come to Tokyo during Golden Week and we’ll help you with something real special.

Ann: We want you to be happy too!

Akira: Do I have a third option?

Ann: No, come on, let’s help each other out!

Shiho: I guess you could resign to us continually bugging you about it.

Akira: And Morgana now too. Thanks guys *sarcastic*

Ann: Well what’s wrong with talking to us about love? I talked to you all the time about Shiho back then and you made me realize how I really felt.

Akira: It’s complicated.

Ann: Well, there must be somebody based on that, huh? Who is it?

Shiho: Someone in your hometown? Or someone in Tokyo?

Ann: What’s gotta be so secret about them? You know we won’t get jealous.

Akira: It’s something I’m not sure of, and I don’t want to get into it.

Ann: Why not? I mean, you’re the most badass guy around! There’s nothing that ought to scare you after all you went through.

Shiho: And you should be able to charm anybody you want. You’re still a phantom thief of heart, you know.

Akira: Heh, maybe. But I really don’t want to talk about it now.

Akira: Though now Morgana has something new to pester me about, sigh.

Ann: Well when you come over for Golden Week, you could talk to us in person if that makes you feel better.

Akira: Maybe. So what was the other option?

Ann: It’s a secret! <3 But it’ll be a lot of fun.

Shiho: We can tell you the day before, but no sooner.

Akira: Alright, I’ll talk with my parents and see about coming over.

Ann: Great, can’t wait to see you!

* * *

Since her parents were away as usual, they met up at Ann’s house the afternoon before the show. She left him and Morgana to speak with Shiho for a bit in order to retrieve the show’s flyer, then came up behind him and handed it over. “Here you go, here’s what we’re gonna do tomorrow!”

“A fashion show?” he said in surprise.

“Oo, you’d be killer there,” Morgana said, curling his tail around.

“That’s right, exactly what we were thinking,” Ann said, coming back into the sitting area. “They’re advertising it as a display of friendship and fashion, where experienced models are supposed to bring in their friends to join them on the runway. Although really, the agency is using this to bring attention to some novices they’ve already picked out. I could go with one of those girls, or I could bring one of my real friends.”

“I didn’t want to join in, but we both thought you’d be perfect there,” Shiho said.

“You’d be one of the few boys, but it’ll be fine,” Ann said, smiling at him.

“I usually just do my own thing when it comes to fashion,” Akira said. “But, it could be fun.”

“So are you in?” Shiho asked, leaning forward.

After a moment’s thought, he nodded. “Sure, why not?”

“Great!” Ann said, then grabbed his arm. “If you’re gonna be there, I need to drill you in how to walk the runway. Also prepare you for all the bustle because while it’s sorta casual, there’s still a hive of activity that most people don’t see backstage.”

“Do we really got to practice something as basic as walking?” Akira asked, letting her pull him out to a hallway.

“Yes, every part of how you present yourself is important,” Ann said seriously. “Now show me some sexy sass.”

“As long as you agree that her sexy ass belongs to me,” Shiho said.

Akira chuckled. “Of course.”

* * *

The show was public admissions, so their friends were able to get tickets to come see. Akira was the only guy in the show, something Ann expected since most of the models she knew in the agency were girls and women. Thankfully, the wardrobe department was prepared for a guest male model; it worked out well since he didn’t need to compete with anyone else over availability of the clothes. He quickly won over the crowd too for seeming a natural at the show. With the tips she’d given him about expected behavior, he had the girls in the crowd cheering and squealing whenever he went out. And he did look good in whatever they put him in: a causal plaid outfit, a delinquent’s dangerous ensemble, a meeker nerd look with glasses and a cute hat, they all managed to suit him.

The last round was one for formal attire and allowed the guest to show something of their own talent or just say a few words to the audience. “But it must be short, less than a minute preferably,” one of the organizers said.

“Less than a minute?” one of the other guests asked, worried about the condition.

“Can you think of something little like that?” Ann asked Akira. She wore a red and gold short dress with some Chinese-style decorations in her hair to match.

He was now wearing a western style suit, in a gorgeous velvety blue color with a yellow tie. Picking through a table of assorted props, he nodded. “Possibly a couple things, although I’d prefer…” he glanced around, then waved at one of the helpers to get his attention. “Excuse me, but is there a small lighter I could borrow?”

“Not here, but I could lend you mine,” he said, taking it out of his pocket and nearly handing it over. “Except, due to the nature of the show, we can’t have the models smoking or fires being set.”

“Don’t worry, I just got these,” Akira said, showing off a pair of thin sparklers. “For a little magic trick, something I picked up to impress some kids.”

“Alright, just be careful,” the helper said, handing over the lighter.

Akira made sure it worked, then nodded. “Thanks. Ann, think you can help me get it secure? It needs to be hidden, where it won’t burn me or the sleeves.”

Ann wasn’t sure about a trick with that kind of risk, especially at a show like this. But, she trusted Akira; he sounded like he knew what he was doing. “Sure, where do you need it?”

Since this round allowed the guests to show off, they had to wait a few minutes for their turn. Most of the guests tried to sing a short song or show a few dance moves to impress the audience. One girl just wished good fortune for the audience; it was clear when she got backstage that it had made her very nervous. “S-sorry,” she said to her partner, hanging her head. “I was okay until they said to do something…”

“Toughen up if you want to stick around then,” her partner said, then left her too herself.

“Rude,” Ann muttered, then went over to the younger model. “Hey, it’s fine,” she said, smiling and patting her shoulder. “That was a sweet thing to say and you didn’t seem nervous at all.”

“Um, I did my best,” she said, still tense.

“It was cute,” Akira said, making the girl blush brightly and look away. “It takes courage to go out there in front of a large crowd.”

Ann nodded. “Right, if you want to keep working as a model, you’ll grow used to it. You can keep in mind that you’re here because you’re beautiful. Besides, most of the time we don’t need to talk.”

“Okay, thank you,” she said, smiling a little. “You two were great out there. I’ve never been in a show like this before.”

“Neither have I,” Akira said.

“I think you’re doing fine,” Ann said told her. “Hey, are you going to stick with the agency?”

“Maybe, I hope so,” she said.

Ann winked at her. “Great, then what’s your name? I’m Ann, and if you want, I can talk to the managers and act as your coach for a few shoots.”

“Really?” she said, wide eyed in surprise. “Thanks. I’m Kumiko. It’s nice to meet you.”

She laughed a little. “It’s great to meet you too Kumiko! Hang tight here, alright? We need to go on the runway in a bit, then we’ll see about arranging this.”

They headed out onto the runway with Ann leading the way. Towards the end, she stepped to the side to let him ahead. Akira then whipped out the lit sparklers as if he were calling them out of thin air, a movement that was impressive even though she’d seen him set it up. Although the runway was lit up with spotlights, the sparks were bright enough to show up around his hands as he speedily twirled the sparklers. The crowd gasped at it, then applauded loudly when he bowed once the sparklers went out.

“Hey, you were wonderful out there today!” one of the managers said to Akira as they got backstage. “Would you be interested in signing up with our agency?”

“You’d do great, I’m sure of it,” Ann said.

But he shook his head. “Thanks for the offer, but no. I plan to go to college and I’ve got another job I can pick back up as long as I’m in Tokyo.”

“Then at least keep us in mind if you do change your mind,” the manager said, offering him a business card.

Once the show was done, they headed off to meet up with their friends to get dinner. It was a fun time, seeing how Makoto and Haru were doing in college along with discussion between the rest about their college plans as well. Although, she had to wonder why Akira wasn’t talking with them about whoever he seemed to love. Did he not trust them? Or was it something he was only comfortable talking with a few people about? He should be fine. And yet, she still hoped that he would speak up to one of them if something became a real problem.

“You’re still worried about him, aren’t you?” Shiho asked at the train station.

“Yeah, he can be such a tricky guy,” Ann said. “I know I should probably keep out of it, but I want to help my friends if they’re in any kind of trouble. He might not even recognize it as trouble. But then, we don’t know much of anything other than there likely is someone and he seems worried. Am I just being nosy?”

“I don’t think that’s a bad thing,” Shiho said, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Besides, we seem to have let Morgana in on our concerns. From what you’ve said, that cat should pay more attention now and tease something out of him. He might even direct Akira to us if it is a problem.”

“I hope so,” Ann said, then chuckled. “Though, I almost feel bad about giving Morgana another reason to nag him. Almost.”

“Well he did have fun today,” she said. “And I was thinking, this is such a big change from when we were freshmen, right? Where we didn’t have many friends besides each other and things were falling apart. But now life is so much better and being around you has made me so many friends that I would’ve never met before. Even if they cause us worry; it does feel good to have others to look after and worry over.”

Ann hugged her. “Yeah. We can make so many people besides ourselves happy, together.”

“Of course, that’s how we make our difference in the world.”

That was right. At one time, rage and vengeance had driven her to seek change for the world around her. Now, it was love doing the same. That could lead to better changes than trying through rebellion alone.


End file.
